Chapter 20 – 020. Vampire Detective
020. Vampire Detective
“What the hell is going on!”
Lee Moon-hyun, the head of the Korean Black Cross Society, roared at the executives gathered in the conference room. Usually as gentle as the friendly neighbor next door, Lee Moon-hyun’s face was contorted like a demon, spewing out rage, causing the conference room to fall deathly silent. The seven executives lowered their heads, avoiding eye contact with Lee Moon-hyun.
“Chief Baek of the Investigation Department!”
“…Yes, Director.”
Baek Ji-wook, the head of the Investigation Department, stepped forward.
The Korean Black Cross Society was divided into three departments: Support, Investigation, and Combat. Baek Ji-wook was the highest-ranking manager of the Investigation Department.
The Investigation Department investigated vampires. They searched for vampires hiding somewhere, or investigated anything suspected to be caused by vampires.
“You tell me! What the hell is going on!”
Baek Ji-wook barely suppressed a sigh. The atmosphere in the headquarters was grave. He couldn’t afford to be caught on any technicality.
He opened his mouth, recalling the incident that had occurred two hours earlier.
“…Around 11:10 AM today. A commuter bus from headquarters suddenly accelerated and crashed into the entrance of the headquarters. The casualties include Hunter Park Ki-soo, who died, and Hunter Jo Joo-hyun, who is in critical condition and currently in a coma. The cause of the bus’s sudden acceleration is still under investigation…”
“…Chief Baek of the Investigation Department. I’m warning you. If you’re going to report such nonsense, just get out of here now!”
“…I apologize. While there is nothing certain, we have determined that this incident was a terrorist act by a vampire and have begun the investigation. There were no people on the express bus. It seems that a vampire progenitor used their psychic powers to carry out the bus attack.”
“Now you’re talking some sense. It’s up to you, the Investigation Department, to find out who that vampire progenitor is… What are the progenitor’s abilities?”
“We are presuming telekinesis.”
“Telekinesis? What a joke! The bus didn’t fly, it drove! The wheels turned. And you say telekinesis? Are you playing with me?”
“It’s possible that they precisely controlled the bus’s driving with telekinesis.”
“Fine. Let’s say that’s true. But the bus crashed at 300 km/h. Do you think that makes sense?! The bus was going at KTX speed!”
“…We will investigate thoroughly.”
“How?”
“We will call in 80% of the investigators nationwide to find all the vampires hiding in Seoul.”
“Not enough. Call in half of the hunters spread across the country as well. And scour all the nearby CCTV footage to find that bastard.”
Huff, huff. Lee Moon-hyun breathed heavily. Perhaps because he had vented his anger, his ghostly face relaxed slightly.
“…Combat Chief.”
“Yes.”
“Tell the hunters to be careful. If the headquarters was attacked so openly, do you think they won’t attack other places? For the time being, operate in teams of three.”
“Understood.”
“How is Jo Joo-hyun?”
“Surgery is underway. The doctor says the success rate of the surgery is below 30%.”
“…We must pray to God. Assign hunters to guard Jo Joo-hyun. And Support Chief.”
“Yes, Director.”
“Contact the National Intelligence Service and request assistance. This is a declaration of war from the vampire bastards, but from Korea’s perspective, it’s a terrorist attack by vampires, so they will be proactive.”
Lee Moon-hyun abruptly stood up from his seat.
“I’m going to the Blue House.”
He glared at the gathered executives and said,
“…This attack is an unprecedented crisis in the history of the Korean Black Cross Society. You know this is an emergency without me having to say it. You must find and kill that bastard. If we are seen as a joke by those vampire bastards, I believe you all know what will happen to Korea.”
Lee Moon-hyun left.
Due to the intervention of someone not originally planned, fate began to flow differently.
•••
Moon Ji-hyuk scratched his head as he looked at the female police officer from the traffic division in front of him.
Officer Yang Jung-min. With her neat hairstyle that reached her collarbone, she had a very kind face, but he had been meeting her every day recently. It was definitely not intentional. It was a coincidence. The problem was that the coincidences were happening quite frequently, making him worry if it was fate.
“Mr. Moon Ji-hyuk. Why do you keep following me? Are you a stalker?”
“I’m the one who catches stalkers. I’m not following you, I’m here for work.”
“What for?”
“About the major express bus crash that happened today.”
“Why? Are you in charge of that case?”
“No. It’s not our department’s work… It’s just. Something feels off. I saw the CCTV footage, and isn’t it too fast for a sudden acceleration? And it seems like there wasn’t anyone in the driver’s seat…”
On the internet, it was famous as a haunted bus. A ghost with a grudge against the company possessed the bus and crashed it. …That’s the rumor going around.
It was an incident that was attracting people’s attention because of this mystery.
‘…It’s absurd, but if vampires exist in this world, there’s a possibility that ghosts exist too. And the atmosphere inside the police station is hush-hush about this accident.’
Even though it happened in the jurisdiction of his police station, the police station was as calm as usual.
“Um. Well… The traffic chief told us to ignore this case… So we don’t know much either.”
“Is that so…”
Strange.
In the past, he would have just listened and moved on since it was another department’s work, but now he felt a sense of unease.
‘Maybe the government has known about vampires since a long time ago. And… if this was caused by a vampire…?’
Moon Ji-hyuk decided to personally and carefully investigate this case in his own time.
“I understand. Then I’ll be going now.”
“Wait a moment. Take this to eat on your way. It’s delicious.”
Yang Jung-min came closer. In that instant, the woman’s dizzying scent hit his nose, startling him.
“Huh!”
“…What’s wrong? Don’t you like green grape candy?”
“Ah, no. I’ll enjoy it. Thank you.”
Moon Ji-hyuk quickly moved away from Yang Jung-min.
‘…I’m going crazy. Thinking that a woman’s neck looks delicious… I really feel like I’ve become a vampire. I need to go back to being human quickly.’
It was a desire that seemed like a combination of lust and hunger.
Moon Ji-hyuk felt ashamed of the sudden urge and covered his face with his hand, then quickly lowered it, feeling a chill.
A vampire’s body temperature was lower than a human’s.
‘How awful.’
•••
I entered Yukseong-dong in the evening, as it was starting to get dark. Located on the outskirts of Seoul, it was a typical shantytown. And it was known to have the worst public safety among the shantytowns.
Entertainment establishments were lined up, and there were also secretly operated illegal brothels. And Yukseong-dong was a place where many gangsters and Koreans of Chinese descent lived.
‘A brothel… Should I check it out?’
But he quickly dismissed the thought. The entertainment establishments here looked low-quality at a glance. A brothel wouldn’t be any different. Going to a prostitute would only be a waste of time and lead to disappointment.
‘It’s better to go somewhere else during that time.’
I entered an alleyway and found a shabby pawnshop. It was a house full of junk, and the sky-blue gate was extremely rusted. The word ‘Pawnshop’ was roughly written in red spray paint on the gate.
I pressed the doorbell next to it. A dinging sound was heard, followed by an old man’s voice.
“…Come in.”
I opened the gate and entered. The yard was filled with all sorts of junk and a few container boxes. It looked more like a junkyard than a pawnshop.
I walked towards a ramshackle shack that looked like it could collapse at any moment. I opened the door and entered, and the interior was better than I had expected. Still, it was faithful to its appearance as a pawnshop, with some decent items on display.
“You’ve come. Here.”
There was an old man in his sixties sitting in front of a wooden table. He was short and his face was full of wrinkles, but his eyes were sharp.
I glanced at the two men standing on either side of Kang Wook-sung. The pale-faced men were glaring at me. They were silently telling me not to do anything foolish.
I walked to the table and sat opposite him.
“…You’re younger than I thought. How old are you?”
“21. The money?”
“It’s under the table.”
I leaned my head to the side of the table and looked underneath. There was a box containing stacks of 50,000 won bills.
“It’s 400 million won as agreed. Where’s the list?”
I placed the backpack I was carrying on my back onto the table. I opened the zipper and spilled the contents out. Several burner accounts and a USB drive popped out.
“The money in the accounts is laundered, and the list is on the USB. Check it.”
Kang Wook-sung gestured to the man next to him, and the man plugged the USB into the laptop on the table and checked the data.
The list was accurate.
There were a total of 913 members of the Korean Black Cross Society. Among them, 174 were professional vampire hunters.
The list contained their names, addresses, phone numbers, and personal information such as their combat history.
‘…Thinking about it again, this seems to be worth more than 3 billion won.’
I quickly shook off the lingering thoughts. If I had asked for 3 billion won, there was a possibility that Kang Wook-sung wouldn’t have agreed to the deal.
After about 10 minutes, the vampire said to Kang Wook-sung,
“…The list is correct. It matches the information we have and is more accurate.”
Kang Wook-sung nodded.
“Take the money. The remaining 600 million will be ready in three days.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
I started putting the stacks of money into my backpack. That’s why I had prepared a sturdy 200,000 won backpack.
“How did you get this?”
“What do hackers do? I got it through hacking.”
“…Do you think we didn’t try hacking? The Black Cross Society uses its own network in each country. Hacking is impossible unless you infiltrate the building and rummage through the computers.”
“There’s always a way. You just don’t know it.”
“What’s the way?”
“That’s my secret. Think about it yourself. There are many possibilities. One of them is… a traitor from the Black Cross Society teamed up with me?”
The money was exactly 400 million won.
I zipped up my backpack and got up from my seat.
‘Now that I have the money, I should go to Yeonghye-jeong. Let’s have some real fun this time.’
I couldn’t help but smile.
‘Yeonghye-jeong, let’s gooooo!’
I quickly prepared to leave the house.
“Taker. Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah. What is it?”
“What are you going to use the money for, that you’re so desperate to get?”
I grinned. I thought it was probably the coolest smile of my life.
“To become a king.”
•••
“That human… is not ordinary. Shouldn’t we kill him now for the future?”
“……”
Kang Wook-sung quietly pondered the vampire’s suggestion, who was standing silently beside him.
He was dangerous.
He admitted that.
He had obtained the Black Cross Society’s list, no matter how. If it was really possible with his hacking skills, then even the vampire organization Kantra was at risk of being hacked by him.
‘The good thing is that he’s not on good terms with the Black Cross Society.’
That meant there was still a possibility that he could become a collaborator.
There were many humans who collaborated with Kantra, even though they weren’t vampires. Humans were creatures that could join hands with monsters if it benefited them.
“…No. Taker is not an enemy. Above all, his abilities are too tempting to kill. It might be okay to continue the business relationship.”
“I’ll assign someone to follow him.”
“Stop the tailing. Didn’t you see Taker’s attitude towards us? He’s not an ordinary guy. He came in here knowing that this place could be his death, yet he was confident. He must have something hidden. And…”
Kang Wook-sung replayed the memory from just now in his head.
Sung Yu-jin’s voice, tone, expression, and gaze. Combining all of that, he came to one conclusion.
“That guy is crazy. He’s not genuinely afraid of us. I’ve seen a few guys with similar eyes in the past.”
“…What does that mean?”
“A guy with those eyes can be divided into two types. A crazy murderer, or a monster beyond us.”
Kang Wook-sung swallowed the rest of his words. That the guy’s eyes were similar to the boss’s.
“Identify all the Black Cross Society guys on the list and watch them from afar. Tell the underlings not to mess with the hunters.”
At those words, the man slightly frowned, as if he didn’t like it.
“Should we just leave the hunters alone?”
“To remove a hornet’s nest, you need the right safety equipment. Especially if it’s a hornet’s nest. The Korean government is behind the Korean Black Cross Society. If we mess with them carelessly, we’ll be in danger. This isn’t Africa or South America. Be careful not to ruin things by acting rashly.”
